Better Together

relaxing at the hotel

This kid...sometimes he acts like a teenager already. We headed back to the hotel after the zoo to cool off, eat and relax. Both Graham and Brett said I had to lay down, which I finally did. It was nice to just be with the boys hanging out. And we took some fun photos.

Graham sitting like this is just like me when I would read books when I was little.

red heads hanging out. Totally brothers.

Adorable Bennett.

Happy face Bennett

Bennett hanging out with Mickey and Goofy. He will be BFF with them before we know it.

All the boys together.

He looks so tired in this picture.

Daddy had to get in on the snuggle action. Graham was into playing angry birds.

I gave Graham his shirts to pick one out. He choose to wear his boat shirt, but we kept his new Ripslinger shirt in case his boat shirt got wet. (Thanks gigi and pawpaw)

I mean seriously, his personality is really starting to come through. He is smiling all the time now, and he is starting laugh a lot as well. His hair is turning red! and he knows how to milk the cry to make us get him quicker.

zoo!

We got to the national zoo and we were ready for excitement! And pandas! We totally got squirreled with these tubes that mimic what it is like to be a prairie dog. He would not go in there for a while. He just watched the other kids play in the tubes.

Hesitation....

He came to check on Bennett and me. We were fine.

Success! He got in the tubes. When we finally got him out of there, we found waters.

I think the whole reason we started planning this trip was because I found out that giant pandas lived less than 3 hours from me...and I had never seen them. So, we went and found them. They were of course on the other side of the zoo from where we parked, but we made it! This is the boy panda; his lady is pregnant and stays inside.

See him in the background? Proud moment for me!

Graham snapping a picture.

We found this panda statue to take a photo with.

The elephants were close by, and we walked over top of them. He could see them and he took some pictures there.

Bennett and Brett with the elephant.

We found an inside place to let Bennett get some air, and to take a breather. It happened to be where the gorillas and orangutans lived. We took a seat and watched and waited. The gorilla who lived here had just left the area.

Waiting can be hard sometimes. We were patient enough to see two gorillas come by for a walk and we watched them eat. We also saw the orangutans that lived here too.

The zoo was cool but not out favorite. We were glad it was free. But I got to see a giant panda and that was awesome. It was getting hot so we headed back to the hotel for a breather before heading back out to visit the museum of natural history.

photo and keys?

Brett had Graham help us take photos the day before using the timer on our camera. While we were waiting to get ready for the zoo, Graham set up his cars for a picture as well, using the same method we did the night before. So cute.

The cars sat there patiently until the photo would be taken. And notice the camera is pointed the wrong way!

We got all loaded up and had to take two elevators to get down to the car...and had NO car keys! Brett had to run back up to get the car keys. Thank goodness the boys were patient and then we loaded up and drove to the zoo!

hotel

Graham seemed to like staying in a hotel, his first one he may be able to remember. He had plenty of snacks and his friends, so he was set.

Bennett liked to kick his feet around.

Graham liked the idea of a bath, until he realized it was not in his home tub. He got all scared and then we said he could splash as much as he wanted and have a TON of bubbles, he was sold. I also filled up the tub a lot as well, he was in tub heaven.

We dunked Bennett in the same bath. Looks a little sacred here. He had a hard time staying asleep when it was time.

All in his jammies and ready to lay down.

They did not fall asleep like this. This is the fun of being a parent when you kids are asleep. We moved Bennett over to Graham and snapped a few shots. so cute. It looks like they are holding hands too, but they are not really. I love this sweet picture of the boys.

And they both look like red heads to me!

national mall

The Capitol! This building was literally right outside the air and space museum, we only had to walk a little bit to get this gorgeous view. The sun was setting and the temp was fantastically cool for August so we found some grass and enjoyed it. This was my favorite part of the trip. It was really special to be in a place so cool with Brett and the boys. Memories. We found grass to sit in to enjoy the moment, and Graham found dirt to roll around in. This kid came home with shoes full of dirt.